Longview wins ARPA 'Parks Excellence Award'!

Congratulations goes out to the Longview Arts, Recreation and Community (ARC) Society for winning the ARPA 'Parks Excellence Award'!  This award was initiated by ARPA's Parks and Open Space Network to recognize achievements or innovative ideas for parks and open space operations, and also to increase the profile of the parks and open space professionals in Alberta.

The Longview ARC Society was formed as a natural progression from their involvement as an ACE Community. A number of areas for improvement were identified upon completion of the community scanning tool including two community desires: a gathering spot and recreational opportunities for the community.  The ARC devised a wish list for an inclusive community space that included everything from necessities to playground, fitness and skateboard equipment.

May 2011, ARC partnered with Longview Council, the Serenity Garden and Veteran’s Memorial Committee, Longview Stampede Association and the Longview Recreation Board to spearhead a fundraising program for the project which they named Longview “Xtreme Makeover”.  The ARC applied for a CFEP Grant with the Longview Recreation Board, Council and the MD of Foothills #31 to put a concrete pad in the rink making it multi season/multi use.

The ARC secured one of 30 annual Canada wide awards from Let Them Be Kids of which 50% went towards all of the above mentioned equipment and matched this award with a variety of corporate donations, fund raising, philanthropic foundations and provincial grants. With the assistance of volunteer labour from the village and surrounding area, the group installed a junior and senior playground, thirteen pieces of outdoor fitness equipment, picnic tables, benches and litter receptacles in Centennial Park. The group also secured funding to install skate board equipment in the outdoor rink adding another use to the structure.

The ARC Society secured funding from Alberta Sport, Recreation, Parks and Wildlife Association to purchase additional fitness and were able to hired a fitness instructor to teach the community how to use the new equipment. This fitness program was called Go ME!!, an acronym for Go Out Move and Exercise. The program ran for the entire summer free of charge and welcomed adults, seniors, youth, moms and tots. The ARC Society has had numerous citizens report increased mobility, increased stamina, weight loss and cases of uncontrollable laughter as they have more and more fun together!

The Centennial Park in Longview has truly become the focal point of Longview’s small rural community.

Carstairs evaluates their priorities!

ARPA’s ‘Diversity Friendly’ Communities (DFC) have now entered into the second and final year of their activities.  Sponsored by the Alberta Government’s Human Rights Education and Multiculturalism Fund (HREMF), this group of four communities is working to use recreation as a catalyst to support efforts to foster equality, promote fairness, and encourage the creation of inclusive communities.

Carstairs, Grande Cache, Jasper, and Rocky Mountain House are all working diligently to positively affect the quality of life in their communities. The DFC group in Carstairs, in fact, met recently at an event hosted by Carstairs Connections.  The goal of the meeting: 1) to learn about the State of the Carstairs Community through an update on health, recreation, and culture programs and projects, 2) to give input about what’s important in Carstairs in health, recreation, and culture 3) to give input about one to three priorities to make Carstairs more diversity friendly 4) and to set priorities for the use of their $10,000 Seed funding grant and the next actions of Carstairs Connections.

Participants, under the superb guidance of ACE Coach Barb Pedersen, discussed six theme areas identified at a previous community meeting. These included:

• Improved communication
• New People and Commuters
• Promote Carstairs as a place for business, tourism, a place to live, etc.
• Promote Volunteerism
• Leisure activities
• Engage our youth

After much discussion, ‘Engaging Youth’, ‘Promoting Carstairs’, and ‘Improved Communication’ surfaced as the participants top three general priorities.  The objective for Carstairs now is to dovetail these priorities with the goal of making the community more inclusive and diversity friendly.  We can’t wait to see to the final results!

Looking for some foolishness?

The ACE Community of Longview is currently looking for local talent who would like to share their talent in a "Night of Foolishness" at the local Longview hall on Sept 29th from 7 - 11 pm.  This event is part of the town's Alberta Culture Days activities.

There will be lots of snacks and refreshments for free and a cash Beer/wine bar. Would you like to do a few numbers or a skit? Let your hidden talents shine! This fun evening welcomes talent in any form - music, cowboy poetry, skits etc.

On the Friday night, Sept. 28th, from 5 - 9:30 pm, Longview is also hosting a "Culture Cafe" at the hall and you are invited to set up a display about your background and cultural heritage. The hope is that by getting to know one another's cultural background, it will foster a greater understanding of one another, more tolerance and perhaps create new friends!

Also, the Longview ACE Team supplied all the school children a canvas last week and asked them to choose their own medium and depict their favorite family cultural tradition or something they love about  Longview. These works of art will be on display at Longview School on Friday, September 28th from 4 - 8 pm along with area artists. They are calling the event Longview ART WALK!

If you are interested in setting up an art or craft display or participating in any of these events, email Michele at michelegeistlinger@gmail.com

Suntree Music Festival & Neighbourhood BBQ in Okotoks

The Okotoks Suntree Village Residents Association is hosting their 2nd annual Suntree Music Festival & Neighbourhood BBQ on Sept 8th starting at 1:00 pm.  (Rain out date is Saturday, Septh 15th)

This festival is put on by the residents of Suntree as a way to bring their neighbourhood together in a beautiful local park.

The festival features a mix of neighbourhood musicians that will entertain throughout the afternoon, culminating in a two hour performance from Suntree resident Jeff Stillie and his band Wildcard (who are a professional band in the Calgary area).

Neighbourhood volunteers will man the BBQ and Beer Garden Party adjacent the festival, while children can participate in games and other activities.

This is the second year for the event and community leaders are working at fundraising to make it a sustainable event. The music festival is part of a local summer program that also includes the Kids Camp out and pancake breakfast in August.

The goal is to host one event a season that brings the neighbourhood together to enhance both the quality of life in the neighbourhood and the sense of community.

This Residents Association is a member of ACE Okotoks and encourages as well as supports the creation of neighbourhood associations, events, and activities that build community.

Trochu officially launches their trails

Congrats to the alumni ACE Community of Trochu who recently hosted the official launch of their Trail systems. Not only was the sun actually shining for the event, the planning committee received congratulatory messages from ACE Communities, Crowfoot MP, the Honorable Kevin Sorenson, Reeve Bob Long of Kneehill County, and  Mayor Tim Shearlaw of Three Hills in addition to Trochu's own Mayor Barry Kletke.

One of the town's community leaders, Pastor Alan Powell, did a great job of being emcee for the evening and ACE leader Darla Gagyi presented a brief history of our Trails journey. Also included was a lovely letter from Trochu's ACE Coach Carol Ohler as well as representation from Encana and various other supporters.

All members of the Trails Committee were there with the eldest two ladies on the committee having the honour of holding the ribbon for cutting. These formalities were followed by the town's third annual Movie in the Park, with popcorn again, supplied and served by Elnora Servus Credit Union andout local Fire Department….the tradition continues!

We can't wait to pop into Trochu and check out the trails ourselves!  Great work as always, Team Trochu!

Hinton's Community Gardens Win Funds

The ACE alumni community of Hinton has received some great news recently! Their Hinton Community Garden Society can look forward to a healthy injection of funds next year after the community organization was named the recipient of the 2013 Canadian Tire Mayor’s Charity Event.

Mayor Ian Duncan made the announcement last week after the Garden Society was selected from nine applicants to be the focus of Hinton’s annual fundraising weekend in August. After forming three years ago, the Hinton Community Garden Society has seen operations grow at a rapid pace to more than 90 registered members growing food in two large greenhouses.

To read more about this, see this great article by Eric Plummer in the Hinton Parklander!

Longview gets active for the summer!

Congrats to the ACE Community of Longview who has now completed the 2^nd installment of their Xtreme town makeover! This accomplishment included the installation of their skateboard park as well as the remainder of the fitness equipment in Centennial Park.

The residents of Longview and their ARC Society would like to send out special thanks to 16-years old Austin Caumartin. Austin worked especially hard and was a key factor in helping assemble the whole skate park! Well done, Austin... this skate park is for you!

This means that Longview’s free Summer exercise-in-the-park program called GO ME!  (Go Out Move and Exercise!) is now up and operating.

The Longview ARC Society has been successful in securing funds from the Alberta Government and Alberta Sport, Recreation, Parks and Wildlife Association to run a 15-week fitness program in Centennial Park from June until mid September. This program, entitled GO ME!, will show local residents how to use the newly installed exercise equipment and participate in regular exercise classes tailored to meet all ages, levels and abilities.

Please register for classes online at http://www.longviewaceprojects.weebly.com

Way to begin the summer on an active note, Longview!  You are as inspiring as always!